How I Make Money Writing and How to Get Started

• Jenn Leach is a writer based in Texas. 
• She makes more than $5,000 a month with writing side hustles. 
• Leach says she has made over $25,000 from Medium payments alone. 

These writing side hustles are super simple if you’re already a writer. If you’re not a writer but enjoy writing or like the idea of writing for money, these side gigs can still work very well.

I personally do many of these side hustles every month and they help me earn an extra $5,250+ per month from them.

Learn about what these 7 secret sauce writing side hustles are, how they work, how much you can make from them, and more.Let’s get started.

Why writing side hustles?

I love the idea of writing side hustles because they are:

• Solopreneur-style side hustles you can do alone
• Don’t require startup money
• Lucrative
• Side gigs you can do part-time or full-time
• Introvert-friendly

When I was working my 9-to-5 job many years ago, I turned to writing as one of my first side hustles to make some extra money.

I was writing super short blog posts for sites like Krazy Coupon Lady and eHow, making a few bucks here and there. It gave me some valuable experience and a taste of what the freelance writing life was like.

Today, there are many more income-earning writing side hustles you can pursue to make some extra cash. Here are seven that I recommend you look into. Each of these side hustles is accessible to anyone; no degree is required, and many require no prior experience.

1. Platform writing

First up is platform writing.

This is what I’m doing here on Medium. I write any number of articles I choose, about virtually any topic and I publish it to Medium.

Since I’m part of their Medium Partner Program, I make money based on the member reading time my stories receive.

I’ve made over $25,000 from Medium payments. This doesn’t include the other ways I earn from Medium…

2. Blogging

Start a blog and make money. Blogs are easy to get up and going.

I wrote a free step-by-step guide on how to do it, including recommendations for who you can use for hosting and more.

If blogging is something you want to try or you’ve considered, just do it!

Don’t delay. Just get started with it. There’s no reason not to. Once you have your blog created, you can take as much or as little time developing it. You can even build a blog to flip immediately or in the future. I’ve made six figures doing this!

Blogging is something I’d do alongside platform writing or some of the other writing side hustles on this list. You’ll get a lot of flexibility, independence, and unlimited earning power with your own blog.

It’s a fun, money-making side project to have.

I run a couple blogs right now.My largest one is Millennial Nextdoor which gets around 20K+ visits per month and is income-earning. I also have a health/wellness/nutrition blog, a finance blog, etc.

3. Write tweets

I don’t have any experience getting paid writing tweets but, I learned about a writer who made six figures writing tweets for people. This was interesting enough to make this list so I’m including it.

I imagine you can find clients by advertising your services and networking on Twitter. Posting a profile on Upwork, applying for jobs, and setting yourself up on Fiverr can help too.

This sounds crazy lucrative. If I was active on Twitter and considered myself good at writing tweets and had some time, I’d probably give it a try.

4. Resume writing

If you can write resumes, you can have a long-lasting and lucrative career on your hands. There is some real money in resumes.

This isn’t something I’ve personally done but, I have seen a ton of different resume writers make a lot of money doing this.

How can you get started?

First, I’d get set up on Fiverr and Upwork to do some freelance resume writing. Next, I’d look at joining social networks like Tik Tok and Instagram then sharing resume writing tips to help other people and put a link to your website or Fiverr or Upwork profile.

Then, watch the leads pour in.

You could also earn passive income by creating resume templates for people and selling them on Etsy, Creative Market or Canva.

5. Calligraphy or written art

Start an online store and sell your custom calligraphy artwork or written art on Etsy. I see hand letterers on Tik Tok with huge followings do this.

They post examples of their artwork and then host live viewing sessions where thousands of people flock to watch them write in calligraphy.

I saw one Tik Tok live yesterday where the creator was writing the name of people who requested it in the comments. It’s a great way to create engagement and drive leads to your own store through social media.

6. Ghostwriting

I do this! It’s about writing un bylined work for clients.

Ghostwriters create:

• Ebooks
• Novels
• Articles
• Blog posts

You won’t be credited or acknowledged but, if you’re okay with that, this is a good writing hustle to pursue.

I found one of my current ghostwriting gigs on Problogger Jobs.

7. Copywriting

Copywriting is not the same as content writing. Writing copy as a copywriter takes some real skill. I don’t do this now but, I have in the past. Copywriting is about selling.

You’re writing to persuade and compel the reader to take action, like clicking a link, joining an email list, or purchasing something online.

A copywriter might work with a client who needs an email automation written or copy for a sales page developed.

This is typically higher paying than content writing, in my experience. Content writing is about writing high-quality content that attracts your target audience and keeps them engaged. You’re not selling something, necessarily.

Jenn Leach is a writer who talks about money, business and lifestyle.